After Dark: Manganese

Brittle, gray manganese is a transition metal that lends its strength to steel and other alloys, and shows its colors in a variety of oxidation states. An essential element for life, manganese plays a key role in producing oxygen during photosynthesis, and helps our cells metabolize proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. While we maintain a balance of around twelve milligrams of manganese in our bodies, absorbing too much of the metal proves toxic.

Join Suzanne Angeli of the Buck Institute on Aging to learn how environmental exposure to manganese increases one’s risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease. Occupational exposure to high levels of the element can also cause a syndrome known as manganism, which has symptoms very similar to PD. By modeling manganism in a microscopic worm known as C. elegans, Angeli aims to identify new therapeutic interventions to ameliorate the symptoms of PD and other neurodegenerative diseases.